If God could grant you anything you wanted, what would you want? Would you want riches, fame, palaces, cars or your own island? Let’s look at one man in the Old Testament who responded by saying, give me wisdom Lord. That man was King Solomon. There are two lessons we can learn from this instance:
- Seeking His will
- Serving Him – Putting the Kingdom of Heaven above all else
- The blessings in stored for us when we put Him first.
Let’s read the following
1 Kings 3:6-14
6 Solomon answered, “You have shown great kindness to your servant, my father David, because he was faithful to you and righteous and upright in heart. You have continued this great kindness to him and have given him a son to sit on his throne this very day. 7 “Now, Lord my God, you have made your servant king in place of my father David. But I am only a little child and do not know how to carry out my duties. 8 Your servant is here among the people you have chosen, a great people, too numerous to count or number. 9 So give your servant a discerning heart to govern your people and to distinguish between right and wrong. For who is able to govern this great people of yours?” 10 The Lord was pleased that Solomon had asked for this. 11 So God said to him, “Since you have asked for this and not for long life or wealth for yourself, nor have asked for the death of your enemies but for discernment in administering justice, 12 I will do what you have asked. I will give you a wise and discerning heart, so that there will never have been anyone like you, nor will there ever be. 13 Moreover, I will give you what you have not asked for—both wealth and honor—so that in your lifetime you will have no equal among kings. 14 And if you walk in obedience to me and keep my decrees and commands as David your father did, I will give you a long life.”
2 Chronicles 1:6-12
6 Solomon went up to the bronze altar before the Lord in the tent of meeting and offered a thousand burnt offerings on it. 7 That night God appeared to Solomon and said to him, “Ask for whatever you want me to give you.” 8 Solomon answered God, “You have shown great kindness to David my father and have made me king in his place. 9 Now, Lord God, let your promise to my father David be confirmed, for you have made me king over a people who are as numerous as the dust of the earth. 10 Give me wisdom and knowledge, that I may lead this people, for who is able to govern this great people of yours?” 11 God said to Solomon, “Since this is your heart’s desire and you have not asked for wealth, possessions or honor, nor for the death of your enemies, and since you have not asked for a long life but for wisdom and knowledge to govern my people over whom I have made you king, 12 therefore wisdom and knowledge will be given you. And I will also give you wealth, possessions and honor, such as no king who was before you ever had and none after you will have.”
Matthew 6:31-33
31 So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.
In these passages we clearly see how the Lord is teaching us the ways we should think. This is a mindset, one of love, commitment and service to Him. The Lord is asking for our hearts, our full energy to live for Him and to place Him before everything else. When we follow Him and seek Him first, the Lord is faithful to fill our lives with abundant blessings.
Blessings come in many forms, so I am not saying that the Lord will award each of us who serve Him with Lamborghinis, palaces and a room full of 100-dollar bills. Remember, God the Father is generous and full of love. He wants to shower us with everything our heart desires just as long as it doesn’t cause our downfall, and it’s within His will. The key is it must be within His will. Let’s look at some verses that support this:
Deuteronomy 6:24
24 The Lord commanded us to obey all these decrees and to fear the Lord our God, so that we might always prosper and be kept alive, as is the case today.
Luke 11:13
13 If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”
Matthew 7:11
11 If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!
James 1:5-8
5 If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you. 6 But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. 7 That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. 8 Such a person is double-minded and unstable in all they do.
1 John 5:14
14 This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. 15 And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him.
1 John 3:21-24
21 Dear friends, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God 22 and receive from him anything we ask, because we keep his commands and do what pleases him. 23 And this is his command: to believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another as he commanded us. 24 The one who keeps God’s commands lives in him, and he in them. And this is how we know that he lives in us: We know it by the Spirit he gave us.
Conclusion
Are you a Solomon and seek the Lord – asking for things that bring glory of God? Or, are you only preoccupied with yourself. Please consider reevaluating your lives and see where you stand with the Lord. He is an amazing God who has given us a salvation through His Son Jesus Christ. All those that accept Jesus and profess Him as Lord will be saved. Are you saved and do you love the Lord? If so, then focus on the Kingdom of Heaven and make yourself available for service. With this mindset, the Lord will richly bless you and He will be with us even until the end of time (Matthew 28:20). AMEN
Leave a Comment